1. Palin's Church May Have Shaped Controversial Worldview

Comment #243307 by Jacquelyn on September 5, 2008 at 11:58 am

Hey - the "recorded sermon" link is down! Anybody have a redirect? Or is this more Republican cover-up? (Like the kooky, anti-semitic guest-preacher whose listing was taken off wikipedia?)

2. IT'S A GODDAMNED CRACKER!

Comment #238285 by Jacquelyn on August 27, 2008 at 11:47 pm

What they didn't realize is that Mr. Cook intended to use the DNA in this fragment of Christ's body to clone Jesus and bring about the second coming. Ah, leave it to the Catholics to thwart the Rapture!

3. Atheists are just as dogmatic as theists, and the only reasonable person is an agnostic.

Comment #238262 by Jacquelyn on August 27, 2008 at 9:48 pm

Bertrand Russell said it best: "As a philosopher, if I were speaking to a purely philosophic audience I should say that I ought to describe myself as an Agnostic, because I do not think that there is a conclusive argument by which one can prove that there is not a God. On the other hand, if I am to convey the right impression to the ordinary man in the street I think that I ought to say that I am an Atheist, because, when I say that I cannot prove that there is not a God, I ought to add equally that I cannot prove that there are not the Homeric gods."

Technically, I am an agnostic, but I don't like to claim that label because religious people see it as a lack of conviction, rather than a semantic issue of whether or not a god's existence can be proven. When pressed, I like to paraphrase Dawkins in saying that I'm agnostic about god the same way I'm agnostic about fairies. It's all a nice way of saying, "As far as I'm concerned, God doesn't exist, but I'm not going to talk to you about it because you're brainwashed, and it would be a waste of my time."

4. If you don't have religion, where do you find your sense of community?

Comment #238253 by Jacquelyn on August 27, 2008 at 9:01 pm

Growing up my mother was very strict about who I was allowed to associate with, and this led her to join a religion with very strict social codes - namely the Jehovah's Witnesses. In fairness, my nephews seem to be allowed much more freedom than I was when I was a kid, but for me the situation was intolerable. Sure, I enjoyed it when I first started going, probably around the age of 8, and throughout middle school when my sheltered upbringing made me an outcast at my school. But by high school, I was sick of being told who I could be friends with, that I had to wait until I was older to date, etc. And to add insult to injury, the majority of the kids within the religion (whose parents were generally less strict than mine) were caught up in drugs, teen pregnancies, and run-ins with the law. The few that remained I have since lost touch with, as I never "came out" to them about my disbelief and had no intention of keeping in touch when I moved away. The only friend I still have from those days is one who I recently got back in touch with, one who many regarded as a "bad influence" when we were growing up and who has also left the religion behind.

In short, the sense of "community" was the worst part of that religion! I could deal with all the rules about what to do and what not to do, but the constant judging of who was good or bad, what was acceptable to pursue as a hobby, and having to be at meetings three times a week - that was the burden that DROVE me from the church. If you can't speak your mind and be yourself, than this so-called sense of community is much more a curse than a "blessing."